Hard in Haven (AU)
In a city fraught with corruption, two detectives and their precinct hope to turn the tides against crime. Cullen and Dorian have their differences, and certainly don’t agree on everything, but they work together to face the dark days ahead of them. The partners learn to trust one another in a world undeserving of their trust, while they navigate personal relationships, struggles with the past, and the ever-growing threat of corruption among the powerful elite in Haven. In essence: a modern day cop AU, starring Cullen and Dorian. This AU comes to you with ideas from /u/bleptember, /u/zinjadu, /u/witchlamb, and /u/pobobo - thank you all! Involved Characters The Haven City Police Department, Precinct 27 Starring: * Cullen Rutherford, '''detective. ** A Ferelden native, Cullen grew up in the rural town of Honnleath. He was the first in his family to attend college, and after getting his degree and attending the academy at Kinloch Hold, he was transferred to Kirkwall. It was, unsurprisingly, a city rife with crime, and Cullen was briefly involved in the radical, corrupted, violent policing encouraged by the Kirkwall Police under Captain Meredith; he eventually realized how awful it was, and worked to have her arrested. She went ballistic, nearly killed some officers, and was promptly removed from regular society. ** Cullen was recruited by Captain Pentaghast of Haven after he took a break for his mental health, and got transferred back to Ferelden after many years away. ** He is disillusioned, but experienced from his years on the force. Cullen largely just wants to separate himself from his troubled past. * '''Dorian Pavus, detective. ** Dorian is a member of the Pavus family, known for being giants in the entertainment industry in Minrathous. He was on the path to follow them, attending university in the Marches for Theatre. For a variety of reasons, he dropped out after two years to join the academy, get an associates' degree in Criminology, and become a detective in Ferelden. His parents were not pleased, and he still has trouble divorcing his upbringing, education, and deep parental issues form his present life. ** Tevene criminals in Haven have sparked a new fire in Dorian's heart; he has always loved his homeland, and in the midst of this crime war, he must not only fully break away from his parents' looming legacy, but battle Fereldan preconceptions of the Tevene as well. ** Dorian is a relatively new, headstrong detective with a penchant for the dramatic. He has a brilliant head on his shoulders, and his skills pair well with Cullen's. And the rest of their colleagues: * Cassandra Pentaghast, captain of the precinct. She’s tough as nails, and she was practically born to be a police officer. She routinely kicks the asses of her employees, but cares deeply for them. She is known in the city for her brave heart, and has become something of an urban legend after she saved the Divine from an attempted assassination while on duty. * Aveline Vallen, sergeant. A lot of her duties lie in the beat cops, but she keeps a close eye on the detectives, as well. She also routinely kicks their asses, but is softer than she seems, and generally assists her detectives in all the ways they want to find loopholes to benefit civilians. * Hissrad Ashkaari, though he prefers The Iron Bull. He was once in the military, but retired after losing his eye and became a psychiatrist. Very strong, very smart. Witnesses, citizens, and other non-criminals * Vivienne de Fer, a career politician. Despite allegations of her affair with an Orlesian business tycoon, Bastien de Ghislain, she remains a powerful influence in the city of Haven. * Solas Fen'an, a humanities professor at Redcliffe University nearby. Solas is known for his undeniable intelligence and extensive published research, but his students are less keen on his teaching skills. Though his courses are stimulating, he does what he can to lecture as much as possible and grade as little as possible. He puts off grading finals until the last minute, and is rarely accessible via emails or office hours. ** Secretly, he is Fen'harel, a major crime boss in the Dales. He has come to Haven to spread the influence of his operation - but first, the city must be corrupted to an extent he can exploit. * Cole, a high school student who knows more than he should. No one quite knows what to make of him, but he has never given the police a tip that was wrong. * Josephine Montilyet, a young PR director who knows her stuff. She briefly worked with the city of Haven in a short-lived publicity campaign, but moved into the private sector once rumors of Haven's corruption began to spread. She works with Varric's publisher to make sure he is well-publicized, despite his less-than-legal dealings. Though friends with criminals like Leliana and Varric, Josephine herself will not participate in any crime, and the two work fiercely to protect her from prosecution in whatever ways they can. * Thom Rainier, an ex-convict who hosts a support group for other recently-released convicts. He runs into the 27th Precinct when they trace a lead back to this group. Originally, he was arrested by Cassandra for distributing fake identification documents, known in the criminal underworld as Blackwall, but has since changed his ways. On the side, he is learning carpentry and other assorted woodworking skills. * Argent Trevelyan, an OC from yours truly (and you can find more about her medieval fantasy self here). She is the sole witness to Corypheus' arson of the Haven City Hall, and lands herself inexplicably in the middle of this criminal plot. Though not a law enforcement officer, she is still a public servant; she teaches orchestra at a high school in the precinct's jurisdiction. She is Cullen's girlfriend, and became best friends with Dorian after they roomed together briefly in college before he dropped out for the academy. While she is under police protection, she is given the codename Herald. Criminals, Informants, and other ne'er-do-wellers * Varric Tethras, who comes from a well-established business family. While technically an author, Varric has plenty of underworld dealings, inherited from his brother and distant family. He works as a criminal informant for the department, and always brings in donuts when he comes in to dish some information. He's quite popular with the beat cops and detectives, but not so much the upper management. * Sister Nightingale, whose real name is Leliana. She is a career criminal, as the department likes to put it. Cassandra has been trying to pin crimes to her for years, only to come up short; as a result, they have developed a strangely friendly working relationship, in which Nightingale provides information to the department and asks for nothing in return. * Sera, better known as Red Jenny. She is a serial graffiti artist who keeps getting arrested, but will not stop vandalizing city property. She mostly writes profane nonsense in very public places, and gained notoriety when newspapers and art critics started adding meaning and rhetorical discovery to her work. She thinks it's hilarious. * Corypheus, whose real name is Sethius Amladaris. A Tevene criminal, he has come to Ferelden under unknown circumstances - but he is causing terror in the city, and needs to be stopped. ** The lieutenants of his operation are Calpernia, also of Teviner, and Raleigh Samson, once a colleague of Cullen's who was kicked from the force after taking drugs from the evidence room. Universe Plot Set in a modern world, this AU can only loosely represent the events of Inquisition. It does so with a heavy hand and much creative license. All races and nationalities are present - dwarves as still dwarves, elves are elves, Qunari are Qunari. Within Hard in Haven, ''Loser Shaves'' is a popular office sitcom; Hard in Haven is, in turn, a popular buddy cop sitcom in Loser Shaves. The City of Haven Haven is located between Ferelden and Orlais, and serves as an important crossing point through the Frostback Mountains. Though it is not as grand or historically important as Val Royeaux, nor as sprawling as Kirkwall or Denerim, Haven is sizable and notable on its own. It's an important city for travel, even if it isn't known as a vacation destination or cultural hotspot. Security is important in a town rife with such important traffic...which is why Haven is susceptible to corruption. Any criminal activity rampant in the city could have access to delicate, international cargo, and the frustrating bureaucracy of old keeps any elected official from making major changes without fighting a political war. Story Synopsis Criminals have come to roost in Haven, and Detectives Rutherford and Pavus are here to stop it. The symptoms of corruption had been present in Haven since the beginning - lifelong cop Captain Cassandra Pentaghast had been fighting with the bureaucracy of the city in order to crack down on crime for years to no avail. Politicians are in the pockets of criminals, criminals are prominent in the community, and the vigilante population has begun to skyrocket in order to combat the strife in the city. Dorian and Cullen are partners that have recently been assigned to each other, and work with Cassandra and the rest of the 27th precinct to investigate corruption in the city. Things come to a head when City Hall is burned down. The only witness was Argent Trevelyan, who was in City Hall for a meeting and simply left last. Corypheus, the perpetrator, gave a long speech and bragged about his greatness, assuming she would die in the fire. She did not, and gave the police their first lead. The story follows Dorian and Cullen as they track down Corypheus and his associates, uncovering crime rings and arresting his lieutenants as they go. They learn to trust one another and work with their team to become great friends and even better cops. Links 'Reddit links to written information about this universe:' Album of artwork on imgur, by yours truly Stakeouts with Samson, pt. 1 and pt. 2 'Offsite links to information about this universe (AO3, Tumblr, DeviantArt):' Category:Alternate Universe Category:Criticalmode __NOEDITSECTION__